A False Deal
by Luminent
Summary: Katniss agrees to kill Peeta in exchange for Cato sparing her life in the games, but what happens if she and Cato become something more, and Katniss ends up staying true to her word by killing Peeta? Katniss x Cato
1. Fatal Decision

_Chapter One – Posted on Wednesday 6/27/2012_

**Summary:** Katniss agrees to kill Peeta in exchange for Cato sparing her life in the games, but what happens if she and Cato become something more, and Katniss ends up staying true to her word by killing Peeta? Katniss x Cato

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Hunger Games and never will. Suzanne Collins does, though.

**Author's Note: **If the cover of this story looks like it got split in half, then simply just click on my profile to see the full thing. Maybe later on I'll make another cover~ Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

**A False Deal**

**Fatal Decision  
**

"I'll make you – I'll make you a deal." Katniss struggled under Cato, who was right on top of her, anxious to end her life in a matter of seconds. She put her hands up in a surrendering position.

"I'm listening, girl on fire. You might want to make it quick, though. I may just _accidentally_ drop this knife." Unfortunately, he had the advantage; she had no weapons. Her bow and quiver were too far away to reach. It was the end for Katniss, but Prim…she couldn't leave her sister behind.

Without thinking, she blurted out, "I'll kill Peeta! Kill me and you'll have to look for him yourself. I think I know where he is!" The knife was slipping out of Cato's grasp. Thankfully though, he took the knife and shoved it onto the ground.

"_Think_? You know where he is. I'll let you live for now, but hear me out girl on fire, betray me and you _both_ die." He scowled, but then stared at her for a moment and leaned down.

Closer.

And closer.

Before she knew it, his lips were right on top of hers.

* * *

_Earlier that day…_

In the dressing room, Katniss was getting ready for the games. She was nervous, but prepared. Her eyes darted around the room, focusing at everything in sight. The room was a combination of blue and pink. There were clothing racks, shoe racks, face products, and hair products dumped all over the place. A diamond covered pendant light hung above her, illuminating a bright shimmer in the room. A large mirror was placed on the wall, showing a clear reflection of herself and Cinna.

"Katniss, are you ready for this?" Cinna stood in front of her, fixing Katniss' hair. She was wearing a light brown jacket, long white pants, black sneakers, and a blue shirt. Her eyes were closed, thinking of a strategy to follow. She took a deep breath. It was almost time for the Hunger Games to begin.

"I have to be."

* * *

Down in another room were the Careers. Marvel, Glimmer, and Clove were sitting in the lounge area.

It was a huge room. The Careers each had their own activity to do. Marvel was chatting on the phone with one of his supposed "friends". Glimmer was filing her long nails. And Clove was admiring her knife collection that was laid out onto the coffee table. Apparently, she was talking to herself. The three stopped in their places as Cato entered the room with a calm Peeta trailing behind.

"We have a new addition to the Careers. Meet Peeta Mellark. Treat him like you would treat me." Cato crossed his arms. He looked serious.

The Careers were confused though. Something wasn't right. Marvel stood up with a furious expression on his face. "What? The Careers already have enough members. We don't need another one, Cato."

"You're going to have to get used to it, Marvel. The decision is final."

Marvel went up to Cato, daringly. They were both almost the same height. With a scowl, Marvel replied back.

"Make me."

Tension filled the room. Peeta was reading a book from the nearby bookcase, ignoring the whole situation in front of him. Glimmer and Clove were watching, wondering if two members were going to end up ripping each other's heads off. Cato would surely win, though. Suddenly, Cato took a step forward toward Marvel until both of their noses were almost touching.

"Is that a challenge?"

Marvel was about to respond when a horn interrupted them.

"Tributes, the annual 74th Hunger Games has begun. Please start heading up to the arena."

* * *

Katniss stared at the horn in the room, taking in what the announcer had just said.

She quickly said her goodbyes to Cinna and went inside of the elevator. It began rising higher and higher until Katniss stood in the middle of a grassy field with all of the other tributes. Peeta was next to her. He gave her a faint smile. She didn't return it. Katniss knew that people would die. Peeta would too.

The horn sounded, and everyone took their running positions. There were backpacks up ahead, along with weapons around the area. Katniss' eyes wondered around the field until they fell upon a bow and quiver.

The countdown started.

Ten.

Nine.

Katniss' mind was racing; there were too many things going on. She had to focus, but she couldn't. The blood bath was about to take place.

Seven.

Six.

Katniss thought about Peeta.

If he stood in her way, she would have to kill him. She didn't want to, but there was no choice. It had to be done.

Three.

Two.

One.

Prim.

The horn sounded again, causing everyone to sprint forward, grabbing anything they could. Katniss could hear some of the other tributes yell, and she watched as they fell to the ground unmoving. As fast as she could, Katniss raced forward and took the bow and quiver, along with a blue backpack. When she turned around, a knife was hurling straight toward her, slicing strands of hair from her face.

Katniss ran out of the bloody fight and into the forest. There was a large tree standing deep inside; it was a perfect place for the night. Katniss began climbing the tree, clutching her backpack in her arms, and reached to the near top of the tree as fast as she could. Up there, she dumped all of the backpack's contents out onto the branch she was sitting on.

Panting, Katniss stared at them.

"One match, bread, and a small pocket knife."

She consumed the loaf of bread in three minutes and shoved the others into her pocket.

The items weren't horrible, but they weren't as useful either. Katniss sighed and figured that the best thing to do in her situation was rest. Many of the other tributes would still be in their killing stage by nightfall. She had to wait for them to calm down or at least get tired. Slowly, her eyes drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Come on, pita bread. Hurry up." Cato yelled at Peeta. He was impatient; lover boy was right behind him and holding the group back. Marvel was dead. Glimmer was searching around like an idiot, and Clove was clinging on to him like a lifeline.

It was a mess. Cato was holding onto a large knife, and he had the strong urge to use it.

"I said hurry up!" Cato turned around and saw that Peeta was nowhere to be found. He was gone.

"That piece of shit left us!" He was angry; anyone who left the Careers had to die.

Suddenly, Cato's thoughts were interrupted by an eager Glimmer.

"Cato. Take a look at this." She motioned for him to look up further ahead. He knew exactly what she was referring to. Up in the trees rested someone.

That someone was Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire.

"C'mon! We have to find some way to knock her down!" Clove was shouting over to Cato, who was studying the girl up in the trees. She seemed to be the type who wouldn't give up, no matter what the situation was; it interested Cato, but soon her life would come to an end.

Glimmer ran up to the tree Katniss was on and began yelling at the girl.

"Down here! You're going to have to leave from that tree sooner or later!" She clumsily threw a large cutting knife at Katniss, but missed due to poor aiming.

"Clove! Glimmer! You find Peeta and kill him. He shouldn't be far behind. I'll deal with this one." The two girls rushed off in another direction, carrying three backpacks and armed with weapons. Cato turned his head, focusing on Katniss. The girl was in a shooting position with her bow, and an arrow was shot directly at him, only missing his face by a few inches. He rushed to the tree and began climbing it.

* * *

Katniss stared at the blonde boy down below. He was gaining on her. Katniss quickly took the backpack she had carried before, and dropped the item. It ended up hitting his face directly. Katniss watched him fall back down to the surface. She could hear him groan in response.

"There's more where that came from!" Katniss yelled to Cato. He seemed annoyed by the fact that he just got defeated by a blue backpack.

"Soon you'll be dead, girl on fire. Just wait." There was a dark and bitter tone to his voice.

Then, a branch fell on top of Katniss, causing her to fall herself. She fell five feet to the ground with her bow and quiver beside her. Unfortunately, the branch landed on her items. They were too damaged and broken to be used. Katniss had nothing except a match and a pocket knife for survival.

Cato recovered quickly from the backpack incident, and sprinted to the fallen girl. She got up and ran away from him as far as her legs could take her. The blonde boy was fast. He was determined to catch her. Katniss turned around, checking to see if he was still following her. And he was.

Another tribute suddenly came into her view running as well. It was a female tribute; she kept running toward them unaware of Cato trailing closely behind Katniss. The female tribute got closer and passed Katniss and ran straight into Cato. He was angry. Cato stopped in his path to slit her throat before she could escape.

Katniss took the valuable opportunity to jump into the river, swimming for dear life itself. The water cooled her skin, calming her a little.

_Crunch_. _Crunch_. _Crunch_.

Someone was coming. Katniss swam to a large stone bridge and hid under it. She could hear the person walk on top of the bridge. She held her breath. One sudden move and she could lose her life. Luckily, the person eventually left.

Katniss was relieved. She quietly stepped out of the sparkling water, and into the forest. Her hunger got the best of her. Katniss Everdeen was hungry, tired, and thirsty. A horrible combination they were together.

She started walking, but took a small break. Katniss' hands were on her knees and she was panting. Then, someone yelled behind her. Out of nowhere, Cato emerged out from the forest and on top of her. He was gripping onto a large knife.

Before he could slice her throat, Katniss yelled.

"Wait! Hear me out!"

"I'll make you – I'll make you a deal."

Katniss struggled under Cato, who was right on top of her, anxious to end her life in a matter of seconds. She put her hands up in a surrendering position.

"I'm listening, girl on fire. You might want to make it quick, though. I may just _accidentally_ drop this knife." Unfortunately, he had the advantage; she had no weapons. Her bow and quiver were too far away to reach. It was the end for Katniss, but Prim…she couldn't leave her sister behind.

Without thinking, she blurted out, "I'll kill Peeta! Kill me and you'll have to look for him yourself. I think I know where he is!" The knife was slipping out of Cato's grasp. Thankfully though, he took the knife and shoved it onto the ground.

"_Think_? You know where he is. I'll let you live for now, but hear me out girl on fire, betray me and you _both_ die." He scowled, but then stared at her for a moment and leaned down.

Closer.

And closer.

Before she knew it, his lips were right on top of hers. They were surprisingly soft against Katniss' lips, and she began kissing him back. Deep in her mind, Katniss thought that maybe Cato wasn't as ruthless as she thought he was. Either that or he was just toying with her. Their small moment lasted shortly before footsteps were heard. Cato abruptly got off of the girl and helped her up.

Clove was rushing to them, ignoring the fact that Katniss was beside Cato. She had a wild expression on her face. Bits of her clothing were ripped and cuts of different sizes covered her right leg.

"Glimmer is dead. Peeta killed her!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yes, a Hunger Games story! As you can see, I skipped some events including the reaping and I apologise for that, but basically everyone knows what happens. So instead, I'm bringing in all the action and romance.

Sadly, Peeta may also not survive in this story either. Notice I said may. He could live. He could die. Whatever happens is for the best, but he will _not_ confuse Katniss' with her feelings. I don't want to be too generous and let all of the characters live.

Also, if anyone does happen to alert/favourite/etc. this story, please leave a review. I love hearing your opinions. ;)


	2. Intrusion

_Chapter One – Posted on Wednesday 7/4/2012_

**Summary:** Katniss agrees to kill Peeta in exchange for Cato sparing her life in the games, but what happens if she and Cato develop an interest in each other, and Katniss ends up staying true to her word by killing Peeta? Katniss x Cato

******Updating Schedule: **I am planning to update every Wednesday until the end of my summer break, which is around early September 2012. I know it seems like a long way until then, but I wanted to let everyone know. Be warned, plans may throw off my updating to a later date.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Hunger Games and never will.

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* * *

**A False Deal**

**Intrusion**

The cannon sounded. Someone had died, and it could have possibly been Glimmer. Katniss stared at Clove. It was impossible portraying Peeta as a killer in her mind. Perhaps the whole friendly-friendly thing was just an act or Peeta really did step up his game. Katniss pondered in her thoughts. She quietly went up to Clove.

"Did Peeta really kill Glimmer?"

"No,_ Katniss_. Glimmer just went off when we were playing hide and seek." Clove sneered at Katniss with a hint of sarcasim in her voice, noticeably annoyed by the brunette's presence. She then turned her attention onto Cato, who was sitting on a log, checking all of the backpacks he had.

"She died by the hands of Peeta. I saw it! The little shit will pay for what he did! And maybe we can even out the field by killing her too." Clove pointed directly at Katniss. Her face was filled with disgust. Katniss ignored Clove and studied Cato's face. He didn't even show a sign of sorrow or anger for Glimmer's death. She closed her eyes, leaning it against a tree thinking about the contact...close contact...they made with each other earlier.

Why he had done it, she didn't know.

* * *

Clove scurried after Cato, limping along the way as he walked around gathering firewood for the night. As Cato was searching the grounds for more wood, he explained the reason to Clove on why Katniss was with them.

"What the heck, Cato? Katniss Everdeen is helping us find Peeta?"

"Yes, for leaving and killing Glimmer."

Clove let out a laugh. "Or just for the fun of it. Who cares about Glimmer? She was an annoying girly girl anyway!"

Cato wondered why Clove wasn't depressed about Glimmer's death. It was a mystery, and he thought about it for a moment in deep concentration. Then, it hit him.

It all made sense now.

Cato turned around facing Clove. "Clove, did you kill Glimmer?"

Clove looked at him with disbelief. "No! Why would I? I was friends with her!"

Angered, Cato walked over to her with his knife in hand. "I know you, Clove. Don't lie to me. Why don't you just leave now, or else I'll kill you myself." He tightened his grip on the knife.

Cato knew for sure that it wasn't Peeta who killed Glimmer, it was Clove. She had a sadistic nature, threatening anyone who made her mad. Glimmer had done something to Clove in the past to make her go kill the girl. Cato noticed that she had sunk so low over the years. Killing Glimmer was a terrible deed. Holding his knife to her neck, Cato gritted his teeth. "Stay here and die, Clove. It's your choice." He had cherished the friendship he had with Clove, and that was the only reason why he was letting her go.

Clove limped away, looking at him one last time. Her sad expression turned into a vicious growl.

"You'll regret this, Cato!"

Those were Clove's true colours.

* * *

Katniss sat on the wet ground, observing the work she had done earlier from carving herself a new bow. The arrows were already inside of the quiver, which she had both made as well. She continued to study the items until she saw a large screen appear up in the sky. It showed pictures of the tributes who died. She watched it closely, looking at the names and pictures appear on the screen. Among the the dead were Marvel and Glimmer. Clove wasn't lying about Glimmer's death, but there was still the mystery on _how_ Glimmer had died.

Katniss' thoughts were interrupted when a male tribute from District 6 approached her, carrying a spear. He lunged forward, determined to stab her with his weapon, but she was to fast for him. Katniss grabbed her bow and quiver, and shot the tribute in the chest. He fell to the ground, dead. Katniss stared at the body until Cato appeared out of the forest, carrying a huge pile of firewood in his arms. Clove was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Clove?"

"Gone." He gave her a straight answer, with a serious look on his face. Katniss didn't press on the topic any further; she didn't care about what happened. The less people, the better. Cato roughly dropped the firewood onto the ground. Then he sat down and began sharpening his weapons.

Katniss continued to sit quietly until Cato suddenly broke the silence.

"I can why lover boy likes you."

"What do you mean?"

Cato sighed. "Do I really have to explain it? You're not the worst looking girl out there." Surprisingly, Katniss appreciated his honesty. She didn't care about her looks, though.

"I thought you were a monster. A ruthless and uncaring one, but now...now you're not. Why is that?" Katniss took a risky move, simply asking him that one question, but she was curious about him.

"I'm not all that I seem to be. Everyone thinks I'm a killer, but I'm not. My father was obsessed with teaching me all for one purpose, winning this for him. He wanted to prove that with training and dedication, only the Careers could have the chance to win the games. My mother supported his idea and forced me to take part in the training. They treated me like this for ages, and when the time came, I volunteered as a tribute. I had to kill; there was no choice about it. Then, I developed a hatred for my parents. They treated me like a _machine, _not as a son! And that resulted in me taking out my anger at the other tributes, killing them."

Katniss was shocked. Cato had just shared a piece of his past with her, the person...the victim...he had almost killed the day before. She understood how he felt, but still kept her guard up. He could kill her at any moment, and she couldn't take that chance. Katniss had to remain neutral.

They sat in silence again. The only sound present were the crickets chirping in the night.

"Why didn't you-" Before she could finish her sentence, a loud noise was heard.

_Boom._

_Boom._

_Boom.  
_

The cannon was going off as they spoke. Something or someone killed the tributes, and it wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. Katniss and Cato nodded at each other, both preparing for an ambush. Cato quickly picked up one of his knives, whilst Katniss put on her quiver and gripped tightly onto her bow. She could hear the birds flying out of a far away tree, clearly alarmed at the current event. The two of them stood still listening to the outside environment.

Then, they heard something rustling a short distance away. It was coming closer and closer toward them and soon came into view. Three creatures jumped out of the dark growling viciously. Katniss and Cato looked at each other, and then turned back to the creatures.

_Muttations._

The muttations looked like a smaller version of tiger-like creatures. They were a dark shade of black and had no trace of noticeable DNA from the fallen tributes. The mutts had no eyes and their teeth resembled a dinosaur's, but theirs were even bigger._  
_

"Run!" Katniss ran off in a randomly chosen direction with Cato trailing closely behind her. The muttuations were chasing after them, crushing any object in their way. Panicking, Katniss glanced around to look at the large creatues and tripped. She had hit a large tree stump, and was trying to get up. Cato, running as fast as he could, went over to help her up. The two continued sprinting ahead. The three mutts chased after them until two of the mutts seemed to run off together to the left, chasing another tribute.

Katniss yelled over to Cato. "What do we do?"

"Kill it! Try shooting arrows!"

She quickly began shooting arrows at the mutt as she was running. No luck; all of the arrows bounced off of the muttation. Katniss panicked even more and searched through her mind, trying to find some way to kill the mutt. Cato on the other hand threw a knife at it, creating a deep cut. Then, Katniss realised that she still had a match with her. She was hoping to save it for later, but there was no other option. Katniss took the match out of her pocket, and stopped straight in her tracks.

"What are you doing?" Cato called out to her.

"Burning it!"

Time was racing. The muttation was only a few feet away from the girl, determined to kill her. Katniss stroke the match against the hard surface, sparking a large fire. The mutt was only a few inches away until it came face to face with the flames. It was frightened. Cato took advantage of the moment, and began stabbing the creature until it was lying down on the floor, dead.

Without warning, rain fell down from the sky, putting out the fire that Katniss had made. Cato went over to the mutt and picked the carcass up. He looked over at Katniss and smirked.

"Dinner?"

Katniss was too relieved to be disgusted, and she faintly gave him one of her rare smiles.

"Yeah."

* * *

Katniss rotated the enormous piece of meat roasting on top of the fire. She took out her small pocket knife and cut herself a portion of it. Cato was on the opposite side of the fire, chugging down a leg. He was obviously enjoying the the luxurious meal. Katniss hesitated to eat her dish, but eventually took a bite off the chunk of meat. It was surprisingly delicious and tender. After taking her eyes off of the food, she stared at the smoke rising from the fire. It could attract unwanted visitors to the area.

"What do we do if someone follows the smoke to us?"

"Kill them. We'll be lucky if someone comes, attracted by the scent of food cooking. There would be less people to watch out for."

Katniss thought about Peeta. She would have to decide his fate sooner or later. "What about Peeta?"

"We'll kill him after we find the others. The only remaining people now are you, me, Peeta, Thresh, Clove, and Foxface. I suspect Thresh and Clove are working together. Clove isn't a huge threat, but her knives might throw us off. And then there's Thresh. He shouldn't be dangerous to you as long as you stay away. I'll deal with him. Foxface might also be around the area. Tomorrow we search the west for any of them."

It was horrifying at how calm Cato was while he gave her an explanation about the whole 'plan'. Katniss absolutely had no idea where Peeta was, and was worrying about the near future. What if she would have to kill Cato?

She kept making predictions, and later noticed a large object falling from the sky, straight to their camp base. It was floating from a parachute and making noises.

_Beep. __Beep. __Beep._

" A sponser sent us something. I'll open it." Katniss caught up with the object and opened the silver container. Inside were crackers, along with a note attached to it.

_Great show, but are you ready for what's coming next?_

_-Haymitch_

The question lingered in her mind for the rest of the night.

* * *

_"Peeta, where are you? We just want to talk!" Glimmer snickered as she and Clove walked through the forest, looking for their former member. Glimmer was in the front whilst Clove was behind her, watching the blonde carefully. Glimmer turned around to look at her and said,"I can't believe we have to go and fetch him. He shouldn't have joined." She laughed and continued yelling. "You better run!"_

_Clove suddenly stopped in her tracks. Glimmer stared at her, wondering what had happened. "Come on, Clo. You're holding us back." She quickly continued walking. All of a sudden, a pain went through her entire body. She looked down and saw that a knife had pierced her through the stomach. The tip of the knife was covered with blood dripping onto the ground below, forming a small pool._

_Her companion was still gripping the knife from behind. Clove glowered at the blonde. "This is exactly what you deserve. Die, Glimmer." Then, she took the knife out of the poor girl as roughly as possible, cleaned the knife, and began cutting one of her legs. She had to make it look like someone had attacked them._

_"C-Clove...I thought..I thought.." Glimmer never had the chance to finish her sentence. She fell to the ground; eyes opened. Clove sneered, unaware of the person hiding behind one of the trees. As soon as she was finished cutting her leg, Clove turned around. She gasped as she saw the boy step out of his hiding spot. It was Peeta Mellark.  
_

_He had seen the entire thing. Clove quickly recovered from her shock, and looked at him. Smirking, she said,"Live to tell the tale, hm? I'll just blame you for this!" Peeta ran off quickly into the forest, trying to forget what he had just witnessed. Clove ignored him and started running off, eager to tell Cato about the 'unfortunate event'._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Happy 4th of July for anyone celebrating this holiday! Now here are the answers to hopefully the questions you may have in your mind:

**Will Rue ever appear in this story?**

Currently, no. Rue has died in practically every story she has been in (minus any Rue x CHARACTER pairings), and I want to at least save her fate this time. Instead, Rue will remain alive with her family back in her home. I hope you all understand why I am making this decision.

**Will Thresh and Foxface be included here?**

Yes, they were mentioned in the chapter. Thresh is a mystery, but Foxface...she just brings up an even bigger mystery. In the next chapter, I want Katniss to somehow end up with Foxface. Then, we will get to see Foxface's background. I want to give her a personality because she wasn't a deep character in the movie or the books.

**How long will this story be?**

Maybe around the range of 18-25 chapters. It all depends on the review count and if anyone is reading this story. I love writing, but if all does not go too well, then I may have to just end this story early.

**Will Cato and Katniss get together soon, and will Peeta confuse Katniss with her feelings?**

Yes, Katniss and Cato will eventually. I don't want their relationship to move forward too fast. A relationship takes time and development. I can say this though, they will defiantly get together in the future chapters. For the Peeta part, Katniss will not be confused with Peeta on her feelings. If you read the first chapter, Katniss agreed to kill Peeta which severed any romantic feelings she could possibly have had with him. Katniss is deciding his fate! And they do have a slight friendship, just not the kind that she would really express openly.


	3. Encounter Part One

_Chapter Three – Posted on Wednesday 7/11/2012_

**Summary:** Katniss agrees to kill Peeta in exchange for Cato sparing her life in the games, but what happens if she and Cato develop an interest in each other, and Katniss ends up staying true to her word by killing Peeta? Katniss x Cato

**Updating Schedule: **I am planning to update every Wednesday until the end of my summer break, which is around early September 2012. I know it seems like a long way until then, but I wanted to let everyone know. Be warned, plans may throw off my updating to a later date.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Hunger Games and never will.

To Anonymous, we will see why Clove killed Glimmer in an upcoming chapter. I plan to have Cato squeeze the truth out of her. I can't give away everything, though. That would spoil all the fun.

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* * *

**A False Deal**

**Encounter Part One**

The night went by quickly. Katniss spent half of her time staring into the bright blue sky, but it did occur to her that the 'sky' wasn't even real. She could almost picture the gamemakers staring down right at her. They were a horrid group. It was almost as if they were drones, programmed by President Snow. The man enjoyed his power and often dedicated it to the games. There was even a franchise laid out for when the 74th Hunger Games ended. Recap movies, posters, and toys were all part of the merchandise included.

Katniss turned her head over to Cato. He was silently sleeping a few feet away from her. He didn't snore, which was a great thing considering Katniss assumed that he did.

She rolled herself around, and felt a cold sensation. She looked down and saw that she and Cato were on top of a large piece of ice. Katniss got up and looked around. "What the?..." Half of the entire arena was covered with a thin sheet of ice. The life that once lived on the other half was gone. Luckily, a few trees survived and covered her and Cato. Katniss couldn't find any other tributes nearby. She thought that she was the first to witness the surprising event.

Katniss went over to Cato and shook him, trying to wake him up. "Cato. Cato. Wake up!" After a few minutes, Cato finally woke up. He yawned and turned his attention to the icy enviroment.

"Holy shit! What the hell happened?"

Katniss laughed through her nose lightly at his reaction. "The gamemakers probably changed it overnight. We should go before someone sees us."

Cato got up and shoved his stuff into his backpack. With a knife in his hand, he yelled over to Katniss. "Let's go. I want to find a tribute before daybreak. We're heading west." The two of them began crossing through the huge ice in silence.

Katniss locked her eyes onto the white ground below her, she noticed a blurry figure at the end of the huge block. The sunlight was shining, making it even harder for Katniss to identify the figure. As soon as it finally came into view, she saw that it was Clove. The girl's injuries were already healed. She was grinning evily. Katniss watched as Clove took out a medium sized knife and slammed it into the ice, causing a crack that was beginning to grow larger.

Cato scowled. "If Clove is here, then Thresh shouldn't be too far away."

Katniss saw as the crack was heading toward them. "No time for that. Cato, we have to leave. Now!" It was a wrong decision using that path, and the situation was worse with the incoming disaster. She and Cato were close to dry land, and ran straight to it. They were both panting heavily. It wasn't easy running across a huge and slippery cold trap.

Groggily, Katniss finally spoke up. "So what now?"

"We wait, and then if-" A loud scream was heard. Without warning, Thresh ran out of the large trees covering the area to Cato. He was swinging around a large spear like a mad man, and yelling at the same time. Cato dropped his supplies and ran away, in intentions of tiring Thresh out. He yelled out to Katniss.

"Go and find Clove! Find Clove!" Katniss quickly picked up the discarded items and sprinted off into the forest, in search of her. She was still sprinting. Clove was either gone or waiting to ambush her. Instead, Katniss stopped in her tracks; hands on knees.

"I was wondering when we would meet." The sudden sound alerted Katniss. She looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Over here." Katniss' eyes fell upon a certain red head.

It was Foxface.

* * *

"Get back here, fool!" Cato was running away from Thresh. It wasn't too difficult, considering that Thresh wasn't a very fast runner with that huge spear in his hand. Cato kept running, avoiding anything that could trip him in his path. "Come back over here and fight like a man!" It was pathetic listening to Thresh. For the past half an hour, all he was doing was chasing him and causing everyone around the area to hear his yelling.

Cato turned around and grabbed Thresh's spear, lodging it into the boy's left shoulder. He aimed for the heart, but Thresh was moving wildly all over the place. Cato shoved him into the nearby river. The District 11 tribute obliged, swimming away into the water, determined to get away from the blonde. Cato didn't care. Chasing after Thresh wasn't worth the time, making sure Katniss didn't try to run away from him was.

He felt a connection to her, but didn't know what exactly it was.

* * *

"What do you what?" Katniss was prepared to shoot the girl standing in front of her with an arrow at any moment.

"I just wanted to talk." Her voice gave Katniss a shudder throughout her entire body, but she agreed to have a 'talk' with the red head anyway. It was just the task of decoding what _kind_ of talk Foxface wanted. Katniss nodded her head in agreement.

"Come on, let's walk back to my camp."

The walk was short, and the sun was beginning to set, giving the arena a warm glow. Foxface's camp soon came into view. There was a fire burning, a single backpack laid out next to it, and a sack of fruit spilled onto the ground. It was small compared to the the camp Katniss and Cato had the other day, but was in a much better location. Foxface sat down onto the rough surface.

Katniss hesitated before sitting down herself, but eventually gave in.

"The boy in the interview talked about you a lot, and now one of the Careers seems to have taken an interest in you as well."

She knew Foxface was referring to Peeta and Cato. "It doesn't matter."

"Of course, it does. The Capitol wants a show, and they always get what they want. They know the interview boy likes you, and that the two of you have had a history together."

"How do you know all of this?"

Foxface was rummaging through her backpack. "My mother and father had good connections. Back in District 5, information about the Capitol was at a high price in the black market. Many people demanded to know what was going on. People took advantage of them often, and told false things, in hopes of getting a meal to eat during the night. My parents had great sources. They thought the more information, the sooner the Hunger Games could be destroyed forever. They were so obsessed. They didn't even give me a proper name, so I gave myself one. I grew up without friends, siblings, or parents that were considered to be normal."

Katniss never knew Foxface had such a background. It was interesting to listen to her. "Then exactly why are you here?"

Foxface reached into one of her pockets, and pulled out five small nightlock berries. "I'm not going to be here any longer. I took these berries from Peeta Mellark. These are the only ones in the entire arena. I would rather die fast then die by the hands of another."

"You can live, and win the games."

The berries rolled around in Foxface's palm. "No. There's no point in that. Panem needs someone like you, Katniss, to win the games. Not me. Everyone wants these games to end. The Capitol has destroyed too much. They _need_ to be stopped." She handed her backpack to Katniss.

"I don't have much time left, Katniss Everdeen. By revealing this information to you, I'll be dead even if I don't die by berries."

Katniss got up.

"What about you?" She stared at the red head. Katniss didn't know Foxface too well, but knew enough that she would have lived if it weren't for the Hunger Games. She felt sorry for the girl.

"Don't worry about me."

* * *

In the Capitol was one particular room. The gamemaker's room. There was a large table in the middle with a digital map of arena 0.2829, waiting for anyone to incorporate anything into it. There were various designs, but President Snow only chose one. Seneca Crane stood observing everyone in the room. He watched the screens on the wall, showing the every move of each of the tributes. A tall woman approached him, carrying a design.

"Sir, the drawing is finished."

He smiled at her. "Good. Put it in section four."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Katniss spotted Cato sleeping on a pile of fallen leaves. It was much easier to approach him whilst he was sleeping. Katniss knelt down beside Cato, head lingering over his. She was curious at how someone like him could look so peaceful at rest. Suddenly, Cato opened his eyes. He tried getting up, resulting in him accidentally meeting his lips to hers. They both pulled back immediately, embarrassed. Katniss felt a faint blush creep up to her cheeks. She saw Cato looking at a tree to his left, uncomfortably. The only feeling left in the air was awkwardness.

Cato cleared his throat. "Why do you have an extra backpack with you?"

Katniss tried looking at him in the eyes, but couldn't. "It's Foxface's. I," She paused, thinking of what to say next. She could tell him that she killed Foxface or that Foxface was gone. Either way, Katniss did have pity for the girl. "took it from her. She doesn't have much." The truth was that Katniss had never actually looked inside the backpack. She just assumed that there wasn't anything valuable inside, except for the backpack itself. It would make out to be a useful falling object for the future...or the past, such as when Cato got hit in the face by one.

The cannon sounded.

"You killed her, then."

"What about Thresh? Did you kill him too?"

Katniss watched Cato as he sat next to her. She locked eyes with him as he replied back. "No, the idiot got into a river. It was worthless to even risk following him tumbling down the water. Let him die by his own stupid move. If we see him running around, then we kill him."

The sudden moaning in the air startled Katniss. "What was that?"

Cato looked around. "Don't know, and don't want to find out. Come on, we need to hide. Who knows what the Capitol has created."He started walking, and Katniss joined him.

"Where the heck are we going to hide? Here in the middle of the-" Before she could speak any further, Cato pulled her with him behind a large pile of fallen trees. The moaning noise grew louder and a spotlight was shining all over the place. Katniss could feel Cato pressing her against him. She could hear her own heart beat, and wondered if Cato could too. The moaning was later joined by large footsteps that were growing closer and closer. Cato laughed.

"The moaning sounds like my mother in the morning."

Katniss smiled amusedly. "So you do have a sense of humor."

"I'm not that emotionless."

"I thought you were."

Their lips were an inch away from touching until Katniss broke the silence, shifting uncomfortably away from Cato. "It should be gone by now. I'll go check." She stood up, checking the area. Her eyes darted around, falling on almost every object. She noticed a shiny metal item on the ground. Katniss picked it up. "It's a piece to something, like a puzzle." Katniss continued examining the find just before Cato snatched it out of her hands. She watched as he made a disgusted look.

"What kind of shit leaves this behind?" Cato stalked away, annoyed. He tossed the object aside onto the damp ground, and walked away. Before joining him, Katniss secretly grabbed it, and tucked the item in her pocket

It would _have_ to come in handy later on.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to check out the poll in my profile. The question is, should Peeta Mellark die? I want to see what you all feel about it, and the highest poll choice may affect Peeta's future.

Any questions? Ask away in a review.


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